SYNDICATION

The following are extensive excerpts from Russiaan Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian Federation in Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Context of Changes in the Global Security Architecture” Moscow, 8 November 2019.

The writer is Co-Director of Pressenza, humanist, author of several monographs and books. This feature appeared first in www.pressenza.com.

SANTIAGO DE CHILE (IDN) – The hashtag #lastesissenior was broadcast on Twitter December 6. It had not been communicated before by social networks. It quickly became a trending topic in Chile. And this came as a surprise, though everything had been organized with a lot of discretion.

Prof Dr Jiang Feng chairs the University Council of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) in China. This article first appeared on International Politics and Society Journal, published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels office.

SHANGHAI | BRUSSELS (IDN-INPS) – For German government representatives and top politicians visiting China, a quick trip to Shanghai has almost become obligatory. The city’s rapid development provides a wealth of reasons for admiration and astonishment. Germans are often surprised that it’s much more modern than people generally assume and that it offers a very different picture from the one conveyed in the German press.

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a series of books, and especially in Antifragile, Nassim Taleb has introduced an important concept — that of being antifragile, referring to ‘things that gain from disorder’. ‘Fragile’ is, of course, the opposite: it connotes something that thrives under stable conditions but, being brittle, loses, and at times loses big, amid volatility. In the middle, ‘robust’ indicates resilience against uncertainty and turmoil, without the capacity to profit from it.

The author is a Research Fellow at Stockholm Research Institute (SEI) Oxford and her main expertise is on climate change law and policy. She joined the SEI Oxford office in March 2017, where she is concentrating on legal and political aspects of fossil fuel subsidies reform. This article first appeared on SEI Website.

OXFORD (IDN) – This year’s UN Climate Change Conference, or COP, marks the 25th such gathering bringing together the world’s governments to negotiate solutions for tackling the climate crisis. A milestone; yet at first glance there is little cause for celebration.

NUR-SULTAN | BAGHDAD (IDN | The Astana Times) – Kazakhstan’s humanitarian operation on November 27 brought 14 children back to their homeland from an Iraqi prison, where they have been living for two years with their mothers. The life “after” will start for them with courses of rehabilitation at Pravo public fund’s regional centres.

“There are six of them (mothers). They are in an Iraqi prison in Baghdad. They have been serving the life sentence, which in Iraq means 25 years. And for two years they (children) have been there with their mothers. Unfortunately, our government only got to know that our citizens are in an Iraqi prison in March,” said The Astana Times reporter Assel Satubaldina who was reporting from Baghdad.

BRASILIA (IDN-INPS) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 14 night urged an end to violence and chaos in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), which he said is the most pressing task for the city, in his latest remarks that have been seen as a strong support for tougher actions against violent criminals.

In comments made at a meeting of major emerging markets in Brazil, Xi also stated China's determination to protect its national sovereignty and security, and opposition to external influence in Hong Kong affairs, in what analysts call a clear bid to gain understanding from the international community and warn radical elements in Hong Kong and their foreign backers.

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – "I think democracy has got a lot of strengths that may not be evident in the short run, but will play out over the longer run because the ability to change your leaders, ability to hold them accountable is really important," American political scientist and writer Francis Fukuyama, author of the much debated 1989 "The End of History" article, told Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

The writer studied German literature and political science. He now works as a freelance journalist and, since 2011, lives in Japan. This article first appeared on the website of International Politics and Society on 5 November 2019.

TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – In Japan, harmony lies at the heart of everything, from politics to society in general. The recent change on the imperial throne, however, has brought to the fore how much Japan searches for its core identity beneath the harmonious surface.

They closed with a statement from Bruce Riedel, retired from the CIA: “‘Let’s say he does do it,’ Mr. Riedel said. ‘Let’s say we establish the precedent that we are in the Middle East to take the oil. The symbolism is really bad.’”

This interactive WHO dashboard/map provides the latest global numbers and numbers by country of COVID-19 cases on a daily Basis.

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